baldwin



J. H. BALDWlN. DEVICE FOR PREVENTING THE FRAUDULENT REFILLING 0F BOTTLESAND OTHER CONTAINERS FOR LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 19w.

Patented Dec. 9,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 zea a mw l. H. BALDWIN. DEVICE FOR PREVENTING THEFRAUDULENT REFILLING 0F aomss AND OTHER CONTAINERS FOR uqums.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, I918.

1,324,577. Patented Dee. 9,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 5 m ze UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIo i JAMES HEWITTBALDWIN, or Lennon, ENGLAND.

'IJEVIIICEFORjPIRJ-EIVETLYPI.ING THE FRAUDULENT 'RE'F-ILLING OF BOTTLESAND OTHER CONTAINERS FOR LIQUIDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 31, 1918. Serial No. 237,410.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be .it known that I, JAMES HEWITT BA D WIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and resident at 68 Fenchurch street, London, E. O. 3,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devicesfor Preventing the Fraudulent Refill'ing 'of Bottles andother Containersfor Liquids, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for preventing the unauthorized orfraudulent refilling of bottles and other containers for liquids, andrefers to an improved device of the class in question, which is simplein construction, possesses a comparatively smallnumber of working parts,is not liable to get out of order, effectually prevents refillingwhether by the ordinary process of pouring the liquid into the bottle orother container: by immersion of the orifice in the liquid: by theuse'of an exhaust pumpor force pump: or by any other known means usuallyemployed for refilling bottles or other containers furnished with socalled non-refillable stoppers or attachments. At the same time thedevice enables the liquid to be readily poured out from the bottle orother container as required.

-"In carrying outmy invention, I'provide upon or in connection with thepouring orifice of the bottle or other container, a chamber at thebottom of which is located a valve that when the valve is resting uponthe seating it does not come completely into contact therewith at allpoints except when pressure is exerted upon the top of the buoyantvalve. Means are provided for centering'the valve and preventing itcoming into contact with 45 Fitted within the'betore limitsthe motionofthe suspended weight while allowing for the free movement of thebuoyant valve between. the valve seating and the bafile disk or itsequivalent. Theweight is moreover, so proportioned, formed and arranged,that it enables the liquid to pass.

ma anese, 1919. I

freely into the chamber whenpouringis to be effected, and at the sametime it draws Fig.3,is asimilarview with-the bottle in the horizontalposition, to illustrate the action ofthe-weight. V q

"Fig. isa similar view with the bottle. invertedto illustratethe actionof tlie float or buoyant valve, if the fitting were immersed in liquid.I Fig. 5- shows details hereinafter 'referred to. I

Fig. 6 shows one method of applying my invention to the-filling orificeof a petrol back the valve'upon its seating when the bottle;orcontaineris'tilted back to-or bee can, andtoa-tube in connection therewith forthe admission of air. Figs. 7 and 8 showinelevation and planrespectively a detail hereinafter referred to.

The same letters. and numerals of reference are employed to denote thesame parts in all the views. i 7

Referring. to the form of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 5 a is the neckof the bottle. I) is a cylindrical fitting forming a shallowchamberiprovided with a valve seating 0 and vertical ribs (Z. .Thisfitting is made 1 with a downwardly extending stepped boss 6, the wholefitting resting at the top of the neck of the bottle with the steppedboss 6 projecting downward, a suitable washer f being interposed betweenthe fitting and the top of the neck of the bottle, before the metallicsleeve effecting the attachment is spun into position.

The valve seating c is made so that it is not perfectly even. In thepresent case it is provided with two diametrically opposite raisedportions 0 as shown greatly exaggerated at Fig. 5, for the purposehereinafter fully explained.

g is a flexible cork valve of suitable size to rest upon the seating andto move with sufficient freedom between the ribs d. This valve hassuspended therefrom by means of a flexible cord h a weight It, which isof substantially conical form provided with upwardly extending radialarms m betweenwhich are arched spaces or channels 39.

g is a disk provided with a number of arch-shaped slots g and a centralportion Q1 of about the same size as the cork valve g. This disk isadapted to rest upon the top of the fitting b as shown. 1" is an outercasing provided with a pouring orifice s. This casing is adapted tolinclose the fitting b and to rest upon the washer f and is held inposition by means of the sleeve which is spun over it and the neck ofthe bottle in the ordinary well known manner, thus holding all the partssecurely in position.

I will now explain the way in which the device operates.

Referring first to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the valve 9 is held inposition upon the seating 0 under the pull of the suspended weight, k.

If the valve seating were perfectly flat, as soon as it and theunderside of the valve 9 became wet, the air would be excluded and wouldbe unable to pass between them and the valve would adhere to the valveseating. The outer air being thus unable to enter the bottle, and thepressure outside being greater than the pressure inside, it would bepossible even to invert the bottle and to have the entire weight of theliquid pressed down upon the valve 9 without the said valve becomingseparated from the seating. It would consequently be impossible to pourfrom the bottle unless the adhesion were broken.

In order to weaken the adhesive forces and to secure the necessarybalancing of air pressure, I therefore incline the seating c at a veryslight angle, as already explained.

Supposing now that the bottle is tilted into the position shown at Fig.2. The stream of liquid attempting to find its Way out pushes on theback of the buoyant valve 9 and as with the construction shown, theforces making for adhesion between the valve and the valve seating arenot so great as the forces operating against it, the valve pushedforward and the liquid finds its way through the spaces 10, past thevalve 9, be-

tween the valve and the fitting b through the spaces between the ribs(Z, and through a the slots 9 to the pouring orifice Owing to thelimitations of form imposed upon devices of this general character, itis very difficult to prevent some accumulation of liquid within thechamber, when pouring, and when such accumulation takes place, owing tothe buoyancy of the va vs (5 and the force of the incoming currents ofair, there is a tendency for the valve to close 30 upon the valveseating and to shut ofi entirely or greatly impede the flow of liquid.This tendency is counteracted in the following manner. The shape andsize of the part 9' of the plate 9 closely approximate to that of thevalve 9 and largely or entirely protects it from the force of theincoming current of air. As the bottle is tilted into the pouringposition, what is normally the upper surface of the valve 9 comes intocontact with what is normally the under surface of the plate q, and theparts being wet there is a tendency to adhesion, which tendency isgreatly augmented by the pressure of the air in the chamber, and (or)the pressure of the outflowing liquid upon what is normally the undersurface but in the pour ing position the upper surface of the valve 9.

The forces thus brought into .play are sufficiently strong to overcomethe buoyancy of the valve and any possible pressure of incoming airagainst which the valve 5% is protected by the plate 9, as justexplained.

The whole result is that the liquid is found to pour out very freely andin a most satisfactory manner, even when the bottle is inverted. 7

On the other hand, as soon as the bottle is tilted back to or beyond thehorizontal position, as shown at Fig. 8, which would be necessary in anyattempt to re-fill in the ordinary way the end of one of the radial armsm comes against the bottom of the fitting b and the weight exerts alever like action which pulls the valve upon the seating 0. I

The flexibility of the valve 9 is so pro portioned that any attempt toforce in liquid will be sufficient to cause the valve to adhere to allparts of the seating and to lose the ingress of liquid.

" When the .bottle is inverted, as shown at Fig. t, and the fittingimmersed in liquid, it is still impossible to refill the bottle, as thebuoyancy of the valve causes it to rise to the top of'the chamber andany attempt to force in liquid will in addition make the valve adhereclosely to the seating, thus preventing the passage of the liquid. 7

In practice, I prefer to make all the parts of the device, except thebuoyant valve 9,

, washer f and the cord, of porcelain or some analogous material wherethe fitting 'isto be appliedto a bottle for containing spirits or thelike. a

I will now consider the adaptation of my invention to the pouringorifice of. a petrol can, asillustrated in Figs/6,7 and 8.

10 is the nozzle of the can, which is preferably made somewhat largerthan isus'ual, and may be provided with adownwardly extending flange orskirt 11.

13 is a fitting which corresponds with the fitting b in the previousconstruction,

. and which is adapted to slide into and rest '17, pouring orifices 18being left for the passage of the liquid.

The flange 14: and the ring 15 are surficiently small to pass throughthe outer orifice which is turned or beaded over at 19.

When the ring 15 is placed inposition with the edges comingbelow'the'projecting beading 19, the metal is'spun out or otherwisetreated to hold the device in position, as indicated by dotted lines atFigs. 7 and 8, and as seen clearly at Fig. 6.

When it is required to re-fill the can,

when it is returned to the works, the ring plate 15, is levered out bymeans of a suitable tool,-and a fresh plate is required, after the canhas been re-filled, which is done by simply lifting out the fitting 13with the valve and associated parts, this fittingbeing replaced-afterthe filling has been effected.

I prefer to combine, with the filling device, a means for enabling airto pass to the top of the can, as pouring takes place, and one method ofeffecting this is shown in Fig. 6.

It will be seen that the nozzle 10 is cut away at 20. 21 is a tube whichis flattened out at 22, and soldered or otherwise suitably attached tothe fitting 13, so that it can be removed therewith when required.

The tube 21 extends downward to within a short distance of the bottom ofthe can, and may be fitted at the lower end with a small non-refillablefitting indicated in section at 23. I

In this case the edge of the ring 15 is has been placed in po- With thisarrangement, pouring may be easily effected, as the petrol passesoutthrough the principal fitting, while the air passes in by the tube20. The fitting 23 is intended to prevent the possibility of re-fillingthe can by passing .petrol down the tube intended for the passage ofair.

I prefer to provide a single cap, for c'ov-.

ering in the orifice for pouring and the top of the tube for theadmission of air.

It will of course be understood that the details of construction may bevaried with-V out departing from the principle of my in- Vention.

In some cases I may dispense with; the

retaining action of the disk above the valve, relying upon the forwardrush of the liquid to counteract the buoyancy of the valve, but in allcases I provide above the valve means for preventing tampering with thesaid valve through the outlet orifices.

lVhile the invention'has be'en'shown and described in its preferredf0rm,:it will be understood that changes and variations may be made withrespectto certain of the sp'e-" cific structures shown and described,and that the inventlon is not therefore limited to the precise structureillustrated What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States of America- 1. In a device ofthe class described, thecombination of a container having a pouring orifice, a chamber, a valveseat at the bottom of the chamber, a'pouring outlet at the top of thechamber, a buoyant valve I adapted to seat on the valve seat'and to movevertically in said chamber, means for prevent ng contact between thesides 'o'f'the valve and the inner surface of the chamber,

means for minimizing adhesion betwee'nthe.

underside of the valveand the valve seat, and means between the pouringorifice-and the valve for valve.

2-. In a device of the'clas's described, the combination with. acontainer having a pouring orifice, a chamber, a valve seat-at thebottom of the chamber'the upper sur face of the valve seat havingportions in different horizontal planes, a buoyant valve of a materialof such flexibility that when pressure is applied to its top it willseat on the entire surface of theseating, said valve being adapted tomove vertically in the chamber, means for preventing. contact be.- tweenthe sides of the valve and the inner surface of the chamber, and meansbetween the pouring orifice and the top of the valve for preventingtampering with the valve.

3. In a device of the class described, the

combination of acontainer having a pour preventingtampering with the ingorifice, a chamber, an outlet opening at the top of the chamber, aninlet orifice at the bottom of the chamber around which is a valve seat,a buoyant valve adapted to move vertically within the chamber, means forpreventing contact between the sides of the valve and the inner surfaceof the chamber, means for preventing adhesion between the underside ofthe valve and the valve seat, a weight secured to the valve by aflexible cord so as to depend therefrom, and means between the pouringorifice and the top of the valve for preventing tampering therewith.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a'containerhaving a pouring orifice, a chamber, a valve seat at the bottom of thechamber, a pouring outlet at the top of the chamber, a buoyant valveadapted to seat on the valve seat and to move vertically in saidchamber, means for preventing contact between the sides of the valve andthe inner surface of the chamber, means in the chamber to which thevalve adheres when wet to prevent the valve from floating against theseat when there is liquid in the chamber, and means for break-- ing theadhesion.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a containerhaving a pouring orifice, a chamber, a valve seat at the bottom of thechamber, a pouring outlet at the top of the chamber, a buoyant valveadapted to seat on the valve seat and to move vertically in saidchamber, neans for preventing contact between the sides of the valve andthe inner surface of the chamber, means in the chamber to which thevalve adheres when wet to prevent the valve from floating against theseat when there is liquid in the chamber, and a weight secured to thevalve by a flexible cord so as to depend therefrom and pull the valve toits seat.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a containerhaving a pouring orifice, a chamber, an outlet opening at the top of thechamber, an inlet orifice at the bottom of the chamber around which is avalve seat, a buoyant valve adapted to move vertically within thechamber, means for preventing contact between the sides of therefrom,said weight being provided with radial arms provided with openings forthe passage of liquid therebetween, the ends of said arms acting toexert a levering action to seat the valve when the container is at orabove horizontal position, and means between the pouring orifice and thetop of the valve for preventing tampering with the valve.

7 In a device of the class described, the combination of a containerhaving a pouring orifice, a chamber, an outlet orifice at the top of thechamber, a valve seat at the bottom of the chamber, a buoyant valveadapted to move vertically within the chamber, means for preventingcontact between the sides of the valve and the inner'surface of thechamber, means in the chamber to which the valve adheres when wet forpreventing the valve from floating to the valve seat when there isliquid in the chamber, a weight secured to and suspended below the valvefor pulling the valve back to its seat, a tube for the admission of airto the container, and a valve in the tube vacting to prevent refillingtherethrough.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a containerhaving a pouring orifice, a chamber, a valve seat at the bottom of thechamber, a liquid outlet at the top of the chamber, a buoyant valvearranged to seat upon the valve seat and to move vertically in thechamber, means for preventing contact between the sides of the valve andthe inner surface of the chamber, means for minimizing the adhesionbetween the underside of the valve and the valve seat, means in thechamber with which the valve may adhere when wet to prevent its floatingthe valve seat when there is liquid in the chamber, and means secured tothe valve for breaking the adhesion.

JAMES HEWITT BALDWIN. l/Vitnesses:

A. E. VIDAL, N. E. L. CREWx

